The Toronto Port Authority has today announced that there’s not enough time for its proposed Island Airport tunnel to be built.

"This was a poorly thought-out scheme from day one" said Brian Iler, Chair, CommunityAIR. "It’s a mystery why Toronto’s daily newspapers jumped on board so enthusiastically, with the surprising exception of the Toronto Sun.

"The TPA’s promotion of this project shows how out of touch the TPA is with Torontonians’ priorities. Clearly, an agency controlled by Ottawa, used to reward Tory party faithful and promote private interests, is the wrong way to manage major pieces of Toronto’s waterfront.

"Now’s the time to reverse the error made ten years ago, and place Toronto’s port back under City control – where accountability and transparency are the norm." he concluded.

Quick facts:

No business case for the tunnel was ever been made public – or even presented to the TPA board.

The proposed tunnel’s cost was wildly underestimated – according to the TPA’s own consultants, it would have cost two or three times the suggested $38 million.

The term of two TPA directors who blew the whistle on suspect practices at the TPA were not renewed by the Harper government – replaced by a prominent Tory fundraiser and an investment consultant, neither of whom have any relevant expertise.

Port Authority status was imposed on the City in 1999 by the federal government against the City’s stated wishes, even though it didn’t – and doesn’t - meet the preconditions for such status.